UC^RLF 


^B    27    fl3M 


GIFT  OF 


mr  ii'vniu 
sojg  pjoiXcQ 


^***''^^ 

^   <^^i^    ^ 


A     POEM 

With  Inferentiai.  Proi.ogue 
BY  NIN  S.  HAND 


\ 


NIN  S.  HAND.  Author 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/eternitypoemwitliOOIiandricli 


ETE  R  N  I TY 

A  POEM 

WITH  INFERENTIAL  PROLOGUE 
BY  NIN  S.  HAND 


What  is  to  to  be,  forever  IS, 
And  what  has  been  will  EVER  be. 
The  attributes  of  God  are  His, 
And  ne'er  can  change  Eternally. 


PRICE.  75  CENTS 


PUBLISHED  BY 

NIN  S.  HAND  &  CO. 
301  HAIGHT  STREET 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  U.  S.  A. 


COPYRIGHTED  1918.     ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Dedicated  to  my  Esteemed  Friend 
and  boyhood  Preceptress 


MRS.  S.  J.  ORGAIN 


>us-^'?>?chlja„,; 


THE  FINITE  SPHERE 

An  Inferential  Prologue  to  the  Poem  "Eternity." 

BY  NIN  S.  HAND 


Mysteries  of  yesterday 
Are  Simplicities  of  today. 
What  will  the  morrow  unfold? 


Man  is  unquestionably  the  most  intelligent, 
wise  and  wonderful  of  all  living  creatures.  He 
reasons,  thinks,  invents,  plans,  builds  and  also 
solves  many  of  the  most  intricate  and  perplexing 
problems  of  life  and  nature. 

He  harnesses  and  controls  many  natural  forces, 
applying  and  using  them  for  his  own  benefit  and 
progress.  He  scans  the  heavens  and  visible 
universe,  and  through  his  intelligence,  inventions 
and  acquired  knowledge  of  mathematics,  science 
and  logic,  fathoms  untold  cosmic  depths,  measur- 
ing the  exact  orbits,  speed  and  velocity  of  planets, 


381113 


worlds  and  suns,  velocity  of  light,  sound,  electricity, 
etc.  etc. 

He  analyzes  all  known  substance — or  matter, — 
reducing  it  to  its  most  minute  or  apparent 
primal  atom, — even  to  the  point  of  invisibility,  or 
utmost  limit  of  human  comprehension;  but, 
after  all  this  is  accomplished  and  done,  (even  though 
he  may  be  the  most  intellegent  man  or  advanced 
scientist  of  the  present  day)  he  awakes  to  find  him- 
self more  bewildered  and  confused  than  when  he 
first  began  his  investigations  and  studies,  for  he 
then  more  fully  'reahzes  how  really  great  and  in- 
definable are  the  problems,  mysteries  and  wonders 
of  the  universe,  and,  above  all.  HoiV  Compar- 
atively Little  He  Knows. 

Intelligent  thought  obviously,  logically  and  nec- 
essarily precedes  all  substance,  force  or  action. 
We  cannot  conceive  the  existence  of  anything, 
visible  or  invisible,  without  a  prior  intellectual 
creative  force,  nor  can  we  conceive  an  intellectual 
force  without  life  as  its  attribute;  hence,  Mind, 


Life  and  Force  must  be  co-existent  and  eternal, 
having  Yio  beginning  or  end. 

Human  science,  reason  and  experience — appar- 
endy — prove  that  "all  elements  (as  we  know  them) 
are  indestructible,"  which  obviously  would  make 
them  non-creatable  and  eternal;  but,  as  the  first 
statement  is  manifestly  the  truer  one,  and,  further, 
from  the  fact  that  "we  cannot  analyze  or  compre- 
hend matter  beyond  the  range  of  our  visibility," 
we  are  forced  to  conclude  that  visible  substance 
(or  so-called  ''Created  Matter")  is  but  the 
* '  Concentrates ' '  or  manifestation  of  invisi- 
ble force — or  Mind,  thus  proving  Mind  to  be 
the  only  primal  element  and  creative  force  of 
all  that  appears  to  be. 

Every  tree,  plant,  flower,  animal  insect,  worm 
or  reptile  is  but  an  instrument  to  give  visible  ex- 
pression to  inteUigent  Ufe  and  continuity  of  species 
and  thus  are  emblems  of  Eternity, 


As  "Self  preservation  is  the  first  law  of 
Nature,"  it  must  follow  that  no  intelligent  living 
thing  can  be  wholly  unselfish.  Without 
selfishness  there  could  be  no  incentive  to  preserve 
the  varied  species  and  reproduce  in  hind.  With- 
out Love,  Hate  or  Aversion,  there  could  be  no 
choice,  like  or  dislike.  There  Must  be  op- 
posites  in  the  physical  world — positive  and  neg- 
ative, male  and  female,  good  and  bad,  etc.,  Mind 
or  Intellect  being  the  arbiter  of  choice. 

//  is  as  natural  for  the  BODY  to  die  as 
to  live,  and  a  necessary  transformation,  or  refin- 
ing, as  it  were,  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
ceaseless  progression  toward  perfection.  If 
All  the  alloys  or  bodies  of  life's  tenements  were 
eternal  in  character,  composition  and 
structure,  there  could  be  no  goal  or  progres- 
sion, no  incentive  for  further  action  or  de- 
velopment, no  intuitive  or  selfish  desire  for 


reproduction,  preservation  or  perpetuation 
of  the  varied  species  and  distinct  forms  of 
life. 

Things  we  Know  exist  and  cannot  see,  feel 
or  understand,  we  Naturally  fear  or  regard  with 
awe,  and  are  often  incUned  —  through  OUr 
ignorance,  credulity  and  mystification — to 
reverence,  or  even  Worship. 

Creeds,  Dogmas  and  Religions  are  but 
Varied  mortal  theories,  based  principally  on 
Fear,  Ignorance  and  Superstition;  Knowl- 
edge or  Truth  is  the  Destroyer  of  Both 
Fear  and  Superstition,  and  thus  of  Creeds. 

God  must  necessarily  be  Impersonal,  With- 
out Passion, — unaffected  by  any  sense  of 
pleasure,  pain,  grief  or  sorrow.  His  Laws 
are  A  bsolute.  Perfect,  Merciless,  and  Im- 
mutable, Incapable  of  Revision  or  Change, 


nor  can  they  be  Altered,  Amended,  Sus- 
pended ox  Varied  [hrongJLi  prayer,  supplica- 
tion, atonement,  sacrifice  or  other  human 
ceremony,  hence  the  folly  of  all  creeds,  dogmas 
and  religions  not  in  Perfect  Harmony  and 
Conformity  with  Infinite  Law,  Truth  and 
Love. 

It  is  only  natural  for  mortals  to  SCOff  at 
truths,  and  even  deny  the  existence  of  things 
they  cannot /?^rc^/z^^,  comprehend  or  under- 
stand, and  yet  it  is  mentally  and  physically  im- 
possible for  the  human  mind  to  grasp,  conceive  or 
comprehend  infinity  of  Time,  Numbers  or 
Space,  or  Anything  Without  Limits, 
Bounds,  Beginning  or  End,  or  the  whole  as 
a  Unit,  or,  vice- versa,  the  unit  as  a  Whole. 

Man  measures  and  judges  all  things  according 
to  the  abbreviated  standards  of  his  own  mortal  or 
finite  sphere,  basing  all  calculations  on  his  sense 


ol  perception,  observation  and  experience, 
beyond  which  he  becomes  lost,  bewildered  and 
confused;  and  still,  he  Intuitively  Knows 
There  Can  Be  ''No  Beginning  or  End," 
and  Must  Be  Room  For  Unlimited  Ex- 
tension— or  Contraction — of  Time,  Num- 
bers and  Space,  otherwise  he  could  make  no 
comparisons  or  measurements.  Thus,  it  seems, 
the  comprehensive  hmit  of  the  human  brain  hes — 
hhe  a  restless  prisoner — within  the  narrow  con- 
fines of  this  mortal  or  finite  sphere,  the  outer  walls 
of  which  appear  as  insurmountable  bar- 
riers to  prevent  further  investigation  and  progress 
through  the  fields  of  science  and  knowledge,  as 
though  seeming  to  say,  ''Thus  Far  Shalt  Thou 
Go  and  No  Farther, "  and  yet.  Intuition — the 
"Voice  of  the  Soul" — ever  bids  us  "On  and 
OA7''-towardtlie  goal  of  Infinite  Truth,  Light 
and  Wisdom, 


SHALL  WE  RE  A  CH  IT? 


ETERNITY 


N  I  N    S.    HAN  D 


Oh  thou  subtle  soul  of  man, 
Clothed  in  doubt  and  mystery. 
Ope  thy  booh  that  I  may  scan 
Some  of  life's  strange  history. 


Take  me  back  to  neb'lous  times. 
When  the  eons  of  age  begun. 
Ere  the  new  creation's  chimes 
Echoed  forth  from  sun  to  sun. 


Ill 


'Midst  those  awe  inspiring  scenes. 
Teeming  with  chaotic  strife. 
Let  me  view  the  dawning  gleams 
Heralding  the  birth  of  life. 


IV 

H  'twas  here  life's  star  arose. 
Beaming  forth  in  ecstasy, 
Lift  the  veil  that  hides  the  throes 
Of  this  great  expectancy. 

V 

Should  this  not  be  the  time  or  place 
This  rapturous  morn  of  joy  could  be. 
Then  lead  me  on  through  endless  space 
To  the  portals  of  Eternity. 

VI 

And  tell  me  how  and  where  and  when 
This  vital  spark  of  mystic  trend. 
This  soul  of  substance  first  began. 
And  what  will  be  the  final  end, 

VII 

If  hfe  is  not  a  child  of  time. 

Or  creature  of  reality. 

Unfold  the  glorious  plan — Divine — 

Of  bhssful  immortahty. 

13 


VllI 


And  teach  me  of  this  Holy  tie, 
This  Hallowed  link  tvvixt  God  and  man, 
And  of  the  soul  which  ne'er  can  die, 
And  Life's  sublime  eternal  span. 


IX 


And  tell  me  of  this  proivdence. 
This  bounteous  boon  munificent. 
And  this  Supreme  Intelligence, 
This  Power  and  Love  Omnipotent, 

X 

Then  guide  me  to  the  Fountain-head, 
The  source  of  Mind — the  primal  base — 
From  whence  the  seed  of  substance  sped 
Unto  the  voids  of  boundless  space. 


XI 


And  more  of  substance  tell  to  me. 
The  cosmic  mite — the  germ  of  worlds,- 
The  atoms  of  infinity 
That  feed  time's  vortex  as  it  whirls. 


^^ 


XII 


Then  tell  me  of  the  birth  of  stars 
And  countless  worlds,  of  vague  alloys. 
The  myriad  swarms — the  nebulars, — 
Are  these  Fate's  tools  or  Nature's  toys? 

XIII 

Pray,  why  this  grand  array  of  might, 
This  onward  rush  of  Majesty, 
These  cosmic  throngs  in  whirling  flight 
Unto  an  endless  destiny? 

XIV 

And  why  such  varied  hues  and  hind. 
Such  myriad  forms  of  living  clay, 
The  progenies  of  Thought  and  Mind 
Aborn  to  thrive — and  fade  away  ? 


XV 


And  why  this  fleeting  mortal  breath, 
And  struggle  for  supremacy. 
This  ceaseless  war  twixt  life  and  death, 
With  mould'ring  dust  the  legacy  ? 


15 


XVI 


I{  this  transmittant  vital  cKaiiu 

And  sateless  claim  of  mortal  toU, 

But  leads  unto  a  higher  plane, 

Then  where,  Oh  where,  can  be  the  goal? 


xvii 


And  now  reveal  the  guiding  hand. 
The  power  that  holds  obessive  sway. 
The  Master-mind — which  gives  command 
That  turns  the  wheels  of  night  and  day. 


XVIII 


And  last  unfold  the  flawless  plan. 
The  faultless,  grand,  eternal  scheme, 
This  blended  rhythm — since  time  began. 
And  tell  me.  pray.  What  Does  ft  Mean? 


16 


PART    II. 

Then  Intellect  and  Soul  replied — 

Through  Reason's  lips  and  voice  of  Truth — 

The  answers — which  thy  senses  hide — 

LKvell  in  the  words — ''Eternal  Youth." 

II 
The  scroll  ol  lile — which  thou  wouldsl  see. 
The  source  of  power,  and  substance  too, — 
The  keys  of  Immortahty 

Lie  in  thy  grasp,  IF  YE  BUT  KNEW. 

Ill 
There  is  no  time,  or  reck'ning  rote, 
No  morn  or  eve,  nor  fleeting  year, 
No  era  nigh  or  age  remote 
In  this  eternal  Now  and  Here. 

IV 

Mans  days  and  years  of  measured  tread, 
And  fhght  of  time — which  seems  to  be, — 
His  chronicles  of  ages  dead. 
Are  symbols  of  Eternity. 


There  are  no  lines  or  bounds  to  space, 
No  cycle  large  or  segment  small. 
Nor  can  there  be  another  place. 
For  All  Is  One  and  One  Is  All. 


VI 


The  metric  bounds  ye  comprehend, 
Thy  measurements  of  far  or  near, 
Thy  concepts  of  a  source  or  end 
Are  narrowed  to  thy  finite  sphere. 


VII 


The  cosmic  realms  to  thee  so  grand. 
Which  lie  within  thy  gaze  so  fond. 
Are  likened  to  a  grain  of  sand 
Compared  to  those  which  lie  beyond. 


And  yet  within  the  tiniest  grain 
Which  mortal  eyes  can  scarcely  see. 
Move  myriad  worlds  of  "vast"  domain. 
And  so — to  all  inhnity. 

18 


XI 


There  is  no  zone  or  temperature, 
No  thermic  mode  or  changed  degree. 
No  regions  dark  or  realms  obscure 
In  all  this  vast  Eternity. 


Thy  sense  of  place  and  fleeting  time. 
Of  varied  hues  and  changefulness. 
Of  hght — and  sound — and  fickle  clime, 
Are  mortal  moods  of  consciousness. 


XI 


There  are  no  voids  in  time  or  space, 
No  variant  modes, — no  altered  state. 
No  fountain-head  or  primal  base. 
In  ubiquarian  fields  of  fate. 


XII 


What  is  to  be  forever  IS, 
And  what  has  been  will  EVER  be, 
The  attributes  of  God  are  His, 
And  ne'er  can  change  eternally. 


19 


XIII 

There  is  no  chaos  or  turbulence, — 
No  wasted  force  or  energy, — 
No  errant  schemes  or  accidents, 
For  A II  Is  Peace  and  Harmony. 

XIV 
The  seeming  discord,  storm  or  gust, — 
E'en  cataclasms — which  worlds  may  rend, 
Are  Nature  s  modes  to  readjust 
And  but  the  means  unto  an  end. 

XV 

There  is  no  death  or  real  decay, 
No  vital  lapse  or  waning  power. 
No  substance  born  to  pass  away,  — 
The  vine  but  sheds  the  withering  flower. 

XVI 
What  ye  call  death  is  but  a  change, — 
A  morphic  veer — which  needs  must  be. 
Nor  should  ye  deem  it  sad  or  strange, 
For  Life  Endures  Eternally. 

20 


XVII 
Thy  lile — eternal, — blissful  boon, — 
Thy  faculties  and  power  oJ  will, — 
Thy  mind  and  soul — which  hold  commune 
Are  lent  thy  tame  for  good — or  ill. 

XVIII 
Thy  brain  is  but  an  instrument. 
A  mortal  tool  of  subde  cell, — 
Thy  body  frail  a  tenement, 
A  temporal  place  lor  life  to  dwell. 

XIX 
Thy  reasoning  power — man  s  highest  trait, 
Which  hnks  thee  to  the  Infinite, 
Reveals  thy  past  or  future  state 
According  to  thy  mental  light, 

XX 
Thy  sense  of  joy — thy  fear — thy  pain. 
Thy  love — or  hate — which  make  thee  brave. 
Thy  selfish  lust  and  greed  for  gain 
But  make  of  thee  thy  passions  slave. 

21 


XXI 
Wouldst  thou  but  learn  and  understand 
The  power  of  Love  and  Truth — Divine, 
No  selfish  thought  or  beck'ning  hand 
Could  tempt  thee  from  this  Hallowed  shrine. 

XXII 
And  so  this  mortal  finite  sphere, 
This  primal  school  of  sensuous  mien, — 
But  maps  the  way  through  doubt  and  fear — 
To  realms  of  joy  and  peace  serene. 
XXIII 

There  is  but  one — the  natural  state, — 
No  mite  or  whit  canst  thou  destroy. 
Nor  aught  can  mortal  man  create, 
Or  change  a  jot — save  in  alloy, 

XXIV 
The  elements  which  ye  proclaim, 
And  vainly  seek  to  analyze. 
Are  but  conceptions  of  thy  brain. 
And  mere  illusions  in  thine  eyes. 

22 


XXV 


In  nature's  stern  reality, 

Beyond  the  pales — by  man  deiined — 

There  is  no  vague  pluraUly, 

For  Mind  Is  All — and  All  Is  Mind. 


XXVI 


Thus  all  Creation's  monuments. 

And  mighty  worlds  which  mind  hath  wrought. 

All  living  forms  and  tenements 

Are  but  the  fruits  of  forceful  thought. 

XXVII 

And  so  with  Life — and  Power — and  Force, 
And  constant  lorms  of  energy, 
There  cannot  be  an  end  or  source, 
For  this  is  God's  Eternity. 


•  •  • 

•  •  • 

'•  •  •< 


23 


.,»      ^  o     ^«  ,,«  •>>  ^d„  .91 


^  •{  -: 


iiiiiiill 

iilliii 
iillpli 

iliffiiiigii 

liiii 

lilii  II 


%^ 


iiiiiiiiiiiiii: 

ijiiiiiilij!!!! 


iiiiiiiii 


iii'iiipilill'! 

'■•i-iii!;:;ii:!ii;jt:i<iii 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'j'i 

•iilii  ^iHiiiiiliiii  l[ 


liliPiiilil 


>i:?iii 


iiiiiiiii 
iiiiiiiliSi 

iiiiiii 


381113 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRAR-i 


